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Student’s self-reflection on feedback: encouraging engagement with markers comments

Dr Briony Pulford & Dr Tessa Webb School of Psychology

1st semester Practical module

2nd semester practical module

2nd yr research methods &

statistics

3rd yr dissertation

Module setting

• Year 1 2nd semester prerequisite module: Practical Psychology

• Return dates timed so feedback can be used when writing next assignment

• GTA markers of 1st yr work trained in ‘feed-forward’ comments

The challenge: increasing student engagement with feedback

• Feedback provides information that can be used to improve and enhance performance

• ‘Feedforward’ techniques in feedback produce significant and substantial learning gains (Hounsell et al, 2007)

......IF students engage with that feedback!

The idea

• Be clear that feedback on an assignment should be used to improve the subsequent assignment

Invite students to demonstrate how they’ve engaged with that feedback

• Include this invitation with the standard feedback sheet

Demonstrating how previous feedback has been used therefore becomes part of the feedback process for subsequent assignments

The idea cont’d.

• Self reflection on feedback also addresses staff concerns that students do not act on feedback

If staff feel feedback is used they will be more encouraged to give good feedback

Evaluation of self-reflection element: student perspective

• MC reviewed all completed self-reflection sections:

• Indications were students had read feedback

• Students had engaged with feedback: clear indications that students attempted to use it to improve the subsequent report.

• Students made use of opportunity to ask marker for comments on specific areas of writing / report

• MC gained feedback from markers

• Positive step for markers: increased perceived efficacy of role

• Provided a focus for comments (+ good to know comments made would be used)

• Reported sense of a ‘conversation’ between marker and student

Evaluation of self-reflection element: marker perspective

Moving forward

• Adapt system for online marking

• Increase ‘conversation’ between students and markers

– Year 1: 1st Coursework submission

– ‘Self-reflection on assignment’: describe how you used the marking criteria to write your work, also add specific comments to your marker, e.g. ‘I tried to include critical evaluation points so would like comments on how successfully I did this’.

• Currently encourages a ‘linear’ process.

– Consider patterns across multiple assignments